Machine for use in the manufacture of stitch-down shoes



March 13, 1934. J WHELTQN 1,950,534

MACHINE FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STITCH-DOWN SHOES Original Filed Dec. 3. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIE-1- March 13, 1934. w L o 1,950,534

MACHINE FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STITCH-DOW N SHOES Original Filed Dec. 3. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 $50M @zi /M ATTCIRNEHS:

March 13, 1934. WHELTQN 1,950,534

MACHINE FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STITCH-DOWN SHOES Original Filed Dec. 3, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTEIR; W /M.WWI B @MQZA 44M AT TURNEUE:

Patented Mar. 13, 1934 UNEFED STATES PATENT GFFECE P/IACHINE FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STITCH-DOWN SHOES Application December 3, 1929, Serial No. 411,367 Renewed July 15, 1932 3 Claims.

The present invention has relation to sewing machines in general, and relates particularly to sewing machines for use in the manufacture of stitch-down shoes and adapted to perform the 5 operation of uniting the outwardly-turned margin of the upper with the projecting edge of the sole, or insole, while these parts are assembled on a last.

The object of the invention is to provide a sewing machine of this type with simple and efiicient mechanical means for effecting the lasting of the upper simultaneously with the stitching, so that the upper will be drawn down tightly to the last progressively at successive points substantially abreast of the needle as the sewing proceeds around the circuit of the sole.

To this end the invention comprises a lasting and sewing machine having stitch-forming devices and means preferably on the order of a 20 presser-foot for clamping the marginal portion of the upper to the outer portion of the projecting margin of the sole, and means acting while the upper is thus clamped to wipe the material of the upper which bridges the angle between the last and the projecting margin of the sole, down into this angle. This wiping action in bending the upper and tucking it into the angle draws the adjacent material of the upper down tightly over the last, since the edge-portion is held relatively tightly against movement through being clamped against the sole. While this relation is maintained, the needle of the stitch-forming devices is passed obliquely through the sole as closely as possible at the exact edge of the sole-facing surface of the last, and through the upper as nearly as practicable on the line on which the upper is bent in being tucked into the angle, so that at the completion of the stitch following the withdrawal of the needle the parts are permanently 40 fixed in the desired lasted condition at this point. Thereafter, means act to lift the wiper and the clamping device clear of the work, after the manner of a presser-foot again, leaving the work free to be fed a stitch-length, after which the entire operation is repeated. This step-by-step simultaneous lasting and sewing action is continued about the circuit of the shoe, or about as much thereof as may be desired, until the upper has been secured to the sole by a continuous seam 50 forming a permanent and enduring union between these two parts of the shoe, increasing the life of the shoe and imparting to it a neat and trim contour closely approaching that of a welt or turn shoe.

An illustrative embodiment of a preferred form of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a front view of a portion of the head of a sewing machine with the devices of the invention applied thereto, the clamping and wiping members being in raised 0 relation as for feeding the work, which is shown in section; Fig. 2 is a side view of the same, without the work; Fig. 3 is a front view of certain of the parts of Fig. l, on a larger scale, showing their clamping and wiping action upon the upper 5 of a stitch-down shoe.

In the drawings, the invention is-shown embodied in a hook-needle wax-thread sewing machine of the familiar Puritan type, only so much of the mechanism of such machine being shown as is necessary for an understanding of the application of the principles of the invention.

The parts of such machine shown and their supporting andactuating means which are omitted, are or may be as usual or as preferred, and 35 they operate in known manner. The drawings show at 2 the head of the machine, at the end of the overhanging arm 4, and at 6 the awl-bar with its awl 8. 10 is the presser-bar, movable vertically in bearings formed for it in the head, pressed yieldingly downward toward the work by the stiff blade-spring l2 engaging its top end, and lifted by the lever 16 pivoted on the arm 4 and engaging with the under surface of the lug 14 on collar 18 afiixed to the presser-bar. The work-post is shown at 20, within which is the needle-bar 22 with its needle 24.

In accordance with the invention, the workpost is provided with an obliquely-disposed worktable 26, sloping toward the end of the machine, and provided with a slot 28 through which the awl and needle perform their vertical work-piercing movement and along which the needle moves in its lateral work-feeding movement. The worktable is tipped so that when the sole 30 of a 5 stitch-down shoe, assembled on a last 32, is held flat against it with the awl directly above the angle defined between the side of the last and the projecting marginal portion of the sole, the awl and needle will strike through the sole and 1 upper close up in the angle without damage to the convex portions of the upper, and the stitches formed by the needle in conjunction with the looper 38 and the cooperating stitch-forming devices (not shown) will slant inwardly of the sole 5 directly under the edge of the s01e-facing surface of the last.

Cooperating with this work-table are two upper-engaging members, a clamping member 34 and a wiper 36, which work together to draw the upper tightly over the last at the point of operation of the needle and press or tuck the upper closely into the angle and hold it there while the sole and upper are being united by a stitch. the clamping member is on the order of a presserfoot, engaging the skirt or marginal portion of the upper abreast of the needle while the upper is fitted over the last and held by the operators fingers, and clamping it tightly against the top surface of the sole extension. The clamping member is carried by a clamp-bar 39 having at its opposite ends bushings 40, 41, within which the awl-bar 6 is mounted for independent ver tical movement, and which are themselves freely slidable in bearings formed in the head 2. The top bushing 40 has an enlarged end 43 which is grooved to receive a fitted tongue on the clampbar, and the parts are fixedly united by a screw 45. The main length or" the clamp-bar is U- shaped in section, in the hollow of which is a contracting spring 42, attached to a cross-pin 44 threaded into the sides of the U and extending across its concavity. The other end of this spring is anchored to a stud 46 screwed into the end of the head 2, so that the spring urges the clampbar strongly downward toward the work. The outer end of the stud i6 is slabbed off on opposite sides and extends out through a slot 48 in the clamp-bar, to keep the latter from swinging about the axis of its bushings. The lower end of the clamp-bar is made with a pair of fins 50 to impart rigidity, and the web between them is provided with a horizontal tongue 52 which enters a corresponding groove in the clamping member 34, so as to fix the clamping member firmly on the bar when the screw 5% is put through a hole in the web and threaded into the clamping mem her. The lower bushing 41 is formed integrally with this member 34.

The clamp-bar and its clamping member are periodically lifted slightly from the work to permit feeding of the latter, by engagement with an overhanging shoulder 56 on the clamping member of a lug 58 on the wiper 36, which is affixed to the lower end of the presser-bar, which latter is automatically lifted slightly by lever 15 as usual during each cycle to permit the feeding, and lifted a greater amount by manual or peda control to permit the insertion and removal of the work.

The wiper 36 is afiixed to the presser-bar by means of a split sleeve fitting the slabbed-ofi end of such bar and drawn tight by a bolt and nut 68. Its shank is curved to afford clearance for the looper 38, and its upper-engaging bottom end is wedge-shaped in section to enter fully within the angle, as shown in Fig. 3. Provision is made for the passage of the needle and the awl through it, so that these members may pierce the work exactly in the angle and where the upper is held down by the wiper. This provision is the form of a slot, so as to permit the feeding movement of the needle, since the wiper. like the clampingmember, has only a vertical movement.

The lasting action is effected through the descent of the clamping member and the wiper at the end or" the feeding movement as the lever 16 is lowered. These two members descend together in level relation until the clamping member engages the flaring skirt of the upper and clamps it against the marginal portion of the sole, which is supported by the worlotable. With the upper thus held extended and bridging the angle, the wiper continues its downward movement under the push of its spring 12 as the lever 16 continues to descend, bending the upper and tucking it into the angle until the bend is substantially under the edge of the last. Since the edge-portion of the upper is held clamped to the sole by the member 34, the additional upper material involved in this bend is derived from the adjacent portions of the upper which lie over the last, such portions being stretched tightly and drawn down smoothly over the last. While held in this relation, as indicated hereinbefore, the upper and sole are permanently united by a stitch, and as the work is fed and the drawing-down and stitching proceed around the circuit of the last,

the upper is progressively and evenly lasted all around and united to the sole by a continuous seam. This seam sharply defines the outlines of the upper as determined by the last, is non-metallic in nature and hence oilers no risk of deflecting a needle in a subsequent outsole-stitohing or welt-applying operation, and is well in under the or" last in a position least likely to be struck and cut by the needle in such later operations.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated, and the construction embodying the invention having been specifically described, What is claimed is:-

l. A sewing machine having, in combination, stitch-forming evices, a work-support, a presserfoot, and a wiper, the latter two members being yieldingly and independently actuated toward the work-support, and one thereof being positively actuated in a direction away from the work-support and adapted to carry along with it the other of such members.

2. A lasting and sewing machine for stitchdown shoes having, in combination, a work support, a presser-foot, means for actuating the p "esser-foot to clamp the edge portion of the upper to the marginal portion of the sole projecting beyond the last, a wiper foot arranged to press the upper after being clamped into the angle between the sole and the last, connections between the wiper foot and the presser-foot for actuating the wiper foot from the presser-ioot, and stitch forming devices for uniting the upper and sole in the relation thus established.

3. A lasting and sewing machine for stitchdown shoes having, in combination, a work support, a presser-foot, means for actuating the presser-foot to clamp the edge portion of the upper to the marginal portion of the sole projecting beyond the last, a wiper foot arranged to press the upper after being clamped into the angle between the sole and the last, a spring for forcing the wiper foot against the upper, connections between the wiper foot and the presserfoot for raising the wiper foot from the upper, and

stitch fo ming devices for uniting the upper and sole in the relation thus established;

JOHN M. V/HELTON. 

